"God, I'm so bored..." Liam muttered to himself. Burnt out from grinding trophies in his shooter game, he now aimlessly scrolled through the internet, searching for anything remotely interesting.
Only his desk lamp was on. The rest of the dorm room was shrouded in darkness—his roommate was already out partying.
[You have one message from Tyler.]
A notification popped up on his phone.
"Hm?"
—
"Turn on the lights, Sam," her father said as he barged into her bedroom. She was lying on her bed, laptop in hand, surfing the internet.
"The table lamp's on," she replied.
"Turning on a few ceiling lights won't hurt," he said, flicking the switch on the wall.
"Ugh, it's too bright now—and more expensive too."
"I'm the one worrying about the electric bills, not you," he said with a grin, sitting down beside her. "So, what're you looking at?"
"I found this random YouTube account that keeps commenting the same link under every video."
"Could be a scam. You didn't click it, did you?"
"I considered it. But I mean, there's no way I'd get hacked from clicking just ONE link, right?"
"You never know. Tech is terrifying these days."
"True. Anyways, it seems harmless. This is what it leads to," she said, pointing to her laptop screen.
"Would you rather...?" Liam read aloud.
Tyler's message had been:
[Yo roomie, would you rather survive a night in a shopping mall with 18 rabid hounds or on an island with 80 venomous snakes?]
"Well, of course the shopping mall," Samantha's dad said confidently, grinning. "At least it has air-con."
"That's what I thought too," Samantha replied. "I mean, threat levels feel the same—but snakes freak me out more."
Liam: [I'll take the snakes.]
Tyler: [Yo no way! Same! Mike chose the rabid hounds. He's dead for sure!]
"There's only one question on this site? Lame," Samantha muttered after selecting the rabid dogs option.
All that happened was a giant checkmark appearing over her choice. No follow-up. No stats.
"Don't these sites usually show how many people picked each option?" her dad asked.
"Exactly! That's what I was expecting. This site sucks."
"What's it called?" her dad asked, peering at the URL.
—
Tyler: [Yo bro, you're the Internet guy—got any more sites for these Would You Rather questions?]
Liam: [The one you used only has one question?]
Tyler: [Yeah.]
Liam: [What's the site?]
Tyler: [Link. Saw it on YouTube.]
Liam clicked the link. To his surprise, his answer—"the island with snakes"—was already selected.
"…Huh?"
Liam: [My answer's already submitted even though this is my first time on the site?]
Tyler: [What?]
Liam searched for an account system, thinking maybe Tyler accidentally signed up using his email. But there was no login, no account menu—nothing. The site was painfully simple: black background, one question, two colored boxes.
He glanced up at the URL:
extremewouldyourather.com
—
"'Extreme?' It's just one question. What's so extreme about it?" Samantha's dad echoed the same thought after he read the site name aloud.
"Well, I don't know—and I don't care. The new episode of The City of Broken Dreams is out. Wanna watch together?" Samantha suggested.
"Yeah, sure."
—
"That was…"
"Disappointing," Samantha finished her dad's sentence.
"Right? I don't get why Mercedes had to die."
"They literally killed him off just to nerf him. Otherwise the villain wouldn't seem threatening, I guess."
"Still, making Matthew kill him? That's just lazy."
"Agreed. This show fell off," Samantha sighed, switching off the TV.
"It's late. Head to bed—your mom wants to jog with you in the morning."
"Alright." She stood with a slouch, exhaustion settling in.
"Good night, Sam."
"'Night, Dad," she mumbled, heading upstairs.
—
"I don't usually get sleepy this early..." Liam frowned. As a seasoned gamer, sleep before midnight was unheard of. Even the Americano from earlier wasn't helping. He tried to resist, but his vision blurred.
At the party, Tyler began to stumble too.
"Whoa, dude, you okay?" a girl asked as he nearly tripped.
"I'm fine!" Tyler gave his usual energetic smile and a thumbs up, but both quickly faltered. "I'm... fine..."
**Thump. Thump. Thump.**
Three people collapsed. Their drinks spilled across the floor.
"Drunk already?" someone laughed.
"I know, right? They couldn't handle their al—co...h—"
**Thump.** Tyler dropped. Laughter intensified within the room.
—
The clock struck 10:00 PM.
Liam's eyelids grew heavier. His will to stay awake slipped away.
The last thing he saw before falling asleep at his desk was the time on his laptop changing from 21:59 to 22:00.
And the question still lingered on the screen:
---
Would you rather:
First option: Spend a night (12:00 AM – 4:00 AM) in a shopping mall with 18 rabid hounds enhanced in strength. Escaping is not an option.
Second option: Spend a night (12:00 AM – 4:00 AM) on an island with 80 venomous snakes that kill with a single bite.